Ice Cube Reviving 'Celebrity Deathmatch' With MTV

The 'Straight Outta Compton' producer is set to star on and executive produce the reboot of the stop-motion series.

Dec 6, 2018

AceShowbiz -
Ice Cube is going to bring back "Celebrity Deathmatch" to the small screen. Collaborating with MTV Studios, the "xXx: Return of Xander Cage" star will take on the role of executive producer for the stop-motion animated series through his Cube Vision production company.

The rapper-turned-actor will co-executive produce alongside Jeff Kwatinetz and Ben Hurwitz, as well as series creator Eric Fogel. Aside from co-executive producing, he will also lend his voice to the satire show. "Happy to once again be working with Viacom and MTV on a fan favorite like 'Celebrity Deathmatch' and to continue our success together," he said of his involvement.

Sharing the rapper's excitement about the show's revival is President of MTV, VH1 and CMT, Chris McCarthy. "We're excited to grow our partnership with Ice Cube and Cube Vision to reimagine this fan favorite," he gushed. " 'Celebrity Deathmatch' was the meme before memes, remains a hot topic on social media and will be a smart, funny way to tackle over-the-top rhetoric of today's pop culture where it belongs; in the wrestling ring."

"Celebrity Deathmatch" was one of MTV's popular series. Described as "the gnarliest, most over-the-top gorefest that's ever made it past broadcast censors," the original series premiered in 1998 and ended in 2002, airing for 75 episodes. Four years later, it was revived by MTV2 for two more seasons. Its 2006 premiere garnered over 2.5 million viewers, making it one of MTV2's highest-rated season premieres ever.

MTV2 made another attempt for a reboot in 2015. More than a year later, Fogel broke the news that MTV has decided to pass on the reboot plan. He tweeted at the time, "No one more disappointed than me.Truly sucks."

Cube's new "Celebrity Deathmatch" is expected to be aired weekly in 2019 and will be made available for an SVOD or premium broadcast partner. It won’t be the only MTV’s popular series to get reboot treatment. Back in June, MTV Studios announced its intention to work on a new "Daria", "Made", "Aeon Flux" and "The Real World".